Sheet piling apparatus



y 1950 D. BUCCICONE SHEET FILING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April11, 1958 .0 7 k v I 5 6 [tl lm l1 mm L mmmm l wmm m Ill Hz 0 INVENTOR. mfimz'ome BY WMAM 16. YISL May 31, 1960 D. BUCCICONE SHEET FILINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1958 lllrl/l/l/lll/ll /Al?75% United States Fatent O 2,938,724 SHEET PILING APPARATUS DarioBuccicone, Gary, Inch, assignor to Bncciconi Englneering (30., Inc.,Gary, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Apr. 11, 1958, Ser. No.728,001 7 Claims. (Cl. 271-68} This invention relates to the handling ofmetal sheets and is more particularly concerned with improvements inapparatus for receiving successive metal sheets from a high speedprocessing line and for stopping the sheets in position for deposit in apile.

Modern equipment for the processing of metal sheets is operated atrelatively high speed and is capable of delivering cut sheets at speedsof 1,000 feet per minute or more but such equipment is seldom run atmaximum speed because of inadquate apparatus for bringing sheetstraveling at such speeds to a stop and depositing them in a pile withoutdamage. One arrangement which has heretofore been employed for stoppingand piling the rapidly moving sheets involves lapping successive sheetson each other as they emerge from the high speed line by means ofmagnetic endless belt conveyors which support the sheets and carry themto a piler, for example, as shown in my Patent No. 2,527,911, datedOctober 31, 1950. However, when the sheets are lapped they must moveacross each other and their surfaces can become damaged. Consequently,it is more deirable to provide apparatus which will stop the sheets anddeposit them in a pile without lapping. When a belt type magneticconveyor is employed for handling the sheets without lapping the speedof operation is limited. Also, difficulty is experienced with the belttype conveyor in handling some types of materials because the motion ofthe belts is imparted to the sheet when it is released and the sheetwill hit the end stop with nearly its full forward momentum. With verythin sheets the material is not stiff enough to take the shock ofstopping but will buckle or bend out of shape if the high speedoperation is maintained.

Efforts have been made to provide equipment for stopping and pilingsheets traveling at high speed which does not involve lapping the sheetsand which does not employ traveling belts but which will retard themovement of the sheet as it leaves the shear and reduce the force withwhich it strikes the end stop at the piler. Apparatus has been providedfor this purpose, as shown in my Patent No. 2,779,594, dated January 29,1957, which employs a piling conveyor having electromagnets and smoothfaced, non-magnetic skids extending below the same for frictionallyengaging the surface of the sheet and adapted, in conjunction with themagnets, to stop the sheets which are delivered to the underside of theconveyor. While the skids slow down the sheet considerably andmaterially reduce the chances of damage due to striking the end stop attoo high a speed, the apparatus has limitations in use. The sheet mustslide against the skids and the possibility of damage to the surface ofcertain types of sheet material cannot always be entirely eliminatedeven with the use of the best possible materials for the skid. Also,with very thin sheets difliculty may be encountered in moving the sheetsforward without bending even though the power on the magnets is reducedto the bare minimum necessary to hold the sheets against the skids.

It is a general object, therefor, of the present invention to provideimproved apparatus for conveying and stopping cut metal sheets receivedin single line succession from high speed processing equipment whichapparatus will stop and pile the sheets without lapping and with aminimum of frictional contact with the surface of the sheets, so as toavoid scratching or other surface damage.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a non-lappingsheet conveying apparatus which will bring the rapdily moving sheets toa stop at a predetermined location by combined frictional resistance andmagnetic braking action and drop the sheets onto a pile without thesheets scraping across each other and with a minimum of frictionalcontact between the sheets and the apparatus, thereby adapting theapparatus for high quality piling of relatively thin sheets.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a sheet conveying andstopping apparatus which employs a conveyor having electromagnets and aseries of spaced friction rollers which extend below the magnets andwhich are adapted to frictionally retard the movement of sheets heldagainst the undersurface of the conveyor by the magnets.

It is another object of the invention to provide a sheet stopping andpiling apparatus which comprises a nonlapping electromagnetic conveyorarranged over a piler box and an end stop which is mounted forreciprocating movement in a horizontal. path with sheet actuatedswitches controlling the circuit for energizing of the magnets and forreciprocating the end stop whereby while the sheet is delivered to theconveyor the end stop moves to a retracted position and thereafter thesheet is dropped and the end stop is returned to normal sheet engagingposition to move the sheet into proper position as it drops onto thepile.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the apparatus which is shown by way ofillustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a conveying apparatus which embodies theprincipal features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a partial side elevation of the apparatus in anotherposition of operation;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section taken on the line 44 ofFigure 1, to an enlarged scale;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the rail section shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a transverse section taken on the line 66 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a transverse section taken on the line 77 of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 88 of Figure 5 to astill larger scale; and

Figure 9 is a partial side elevation of a modification of the apparatus.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, there is illustrated a conveyingapparatus having incorporated therein the principal features of theinvention. The apparatus comprises a magnetic rail unit 10 supported atopposite ends on cross beams 11 and 12 and upright end supports orstands 13 and 14. While only one magnetic rail unit 10 is shown in theapparatus, two or more such rail units may be supported side-by-side onthe same beams.

The sheets S are fed beneath the magnetic rail 10 by a feeding mechanismwhich comprises a pair of pinch rolls 15 and 16 journaled on the upperportion of the stand 13 at the one end of the magnetic rail unit 10 withthe rolls being geared together as indicated at 17 and with at least oneof the pinch roll-s being power driven. The sheets S are delivered tothe pinch rolls 15 and 16 by a conveyor belt 18 which is supported atthe delivery end by a pulley 19 journaled in the end frame 13.

The sheets S are delivered to the bottom surface of the magnetic railunit 10 and dropped onto the top of a pile 20 which may be supported onskids 21 or other supporting structure between the two upright stands 13and 14 beneath the rail unit 10.

. magnetic unit.

includes a core or pole piece 27 and a coil or winding 28..

Each electromagnetic unit 25 is held in position in the housing 24 by asocket head bolt 29 extending through the core or pole piece 27, andhaving a securing nut 39 at the upper end so that each individual unitmay be readily removed and replaced, Thebolt 29 also supports anelongate'bar member 31 which'extends between the magnet-unit to which itis secured and the next adjacent Each bar member 31 is held clamped atone end by the bolt 29 which extends through the end thereof, to a steelplate 32 on the bottom of the core 27 and forms an angular extension orcontinuationof the same. Each bar 31 is provided with an elongatevertically extending slot 33 in which there is mounted a roller 34 on asmall cross pin or shaft 35, the pin 35 being positioned so thattheroller projects slightly below thelower surface 36 of the bar 31,

The housing 24 also supports a plurality of relatively small rollers 37which are mounted on the vertically extending opposed flanges 38 and 39.Eachof the rollers 37 ismouuted on a small pin or shaft 40, the axis ofwhich is parallel with the axis of the pin 35 supporting the roller 34.The rollers 37 are the same diameter as the rollers 34 and the axis oftheir supporting pins 4%) are the same elevation as the axis of theroller-supporting pins 35 so that the rollers 37 project below thebottom edges. of the flanges 38 and 39 withtheir lower edges in the.same horizontal plane as the lowermostiedges of the rollers 34.

The rollers 37 are arranged in paired relation on opposite sides of eachof the magnet coils 2?.

Each of the rollers 34 and 37 is preferably mounted on its supportingpin by means of a bronze. bushing 41 (Figure 8). Each roller may have aprotective material 42 on its surface such as rubber, nylon, fibre, orother similar material which will not damage the surface of the sheet asit is carried along beneath the same. While the rollers are shownmounted on the supporting pins by meansof a bronze bushing, they may besupported on their pins by ball bearings or the like where less rollingfriction is required. g V

b The apparatus is provided with an end stop unit 45 which is supportedfor longitudinal adjustment on the top of the magnetic rail unit 10 andwhich comprises an inverted L-shaped bracket 46 having pivotally mountedon opposite sides of its base 47 at 48 and 49 pairs of dependingparallel support links 50 and 51 which are pivoted at their lower endsat 52 and 53 to a horizontally extending frame 54 having mounted on itsfront end a stop plate member 55' which is arranged in a. transverseplane extending vertically across the magnetic rail unit 10. The links51 of one pair thereof are connected at their upper ends to arms 56which carry a cross bar 57 at their free ends, the latter beingpivotally connected to the lower end of a piston 58 of an hydrauliccylinder 59, which cylinder 59 is pivotally mounted at 69 on the upperend of the supporting bracket 46. The cylinder 59 is connected at 61 and62 to a suitable source of hydraulic fluid, and movement of the piston58 is controlled in a manner which will be described.

Acontrol switch 63 is mounted for. longitudinal adjust-. ment along thetop of the magnetic rail unit It) and has a depending pivoted operating.arm 64 which opens the switch when turned counter-clockwise. The switch63 is in.the circuit controlling the current to the electromagnets 2 andwhen the switch is closed, the magnetsare energized and sheets cling tothe underside of the magnetic fail due to the action of the flux throughthe pole piecesand the bars 31, the sheets being carried on the projects4 ing portions of the rollers 34 and 37. The switch 63 is mounted justahead of the end stop plate 55 with the arm 64 in the path of thesheets. When the leading edge of a sheet advanced by the pinch rolls 15and 16 engages the arm 64, the switch is opened and the magnets aredeenergized. The sheet is released approximately at the same time itsfront edge hits the :endistop plate 55, the position of the switch 63being adjusted so thatthe trailing end of the sheet leaves the pinchrolls 15 and 16-as the leading edge strikes the switch arm 64. A secondswitch 65 is arranged at the receiving end of the magnetic rail umt 10adjacent the pinch rolls 15 and 16 and is connected into the circuit fortheelectromagnets so that when the leading end of a sheet S engages thedepending operating arm 66, the electromagnets are energized to hold thesheet against the surface of the magnetic rail unit 10 as it is advancedby the pinch rolls over the pile 20.

The operation of the piston 58 of the hydraulic cylinder 59 whichcontrols the horizontal movement of the end stop plate 55 is timed withthe movement of the sheet so that the end stop plate 55 moveshorizontally away from the pile 2t) as theleading edge of the sheetstrikes the stop plate 55. The stop plate 55 is then moved inthedirection toward the pile 20 as the sheet settles onto the pile, thusallowing the sheet clearance to fall freely and bepushed into positionagainst the back stop 67.

In using the apparatus disclosed, the sheets S are fed by the pinchrolls 15 and 16 beneath the lower surface of the magnetic unit 19 andare carried on therollers 34 and 37 as the sheets advance along the unit10, being held by the magnetic flux in the horizontal pole pieces 31.When the leading end of a sheet S strikes the switch arm 62 thetrailingend is leaving the pinch rollers 15 and 16, the electromagnets 25 aredeenergized to drop the sheet, and the sheet has sufficient momentum tocarry it forward and. strike the end stop plate 55, thelatter beingretracted by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 59. As the sheetsettles onto the pile 20, the end stop plate 55 is moved forward by thehydraulic cylinder 59 and the sheet is settled onto the pile 20 againstthe back stop 67. By carrying the sheet forward beneath the magneticunit It) on the rollers 34 and 3?, the forward motion is cut down to aminimum without damage to the surface of the sheet. The friction in therollers may, of course, be varied by employing different mountings. Themagnetic conveyor 10- does-not require any driving power and only thepinch rolls are driven, thus effecting economy in the use of power.

The invention maybe embodied in apparatus employed for direct piling ofsheets of magnetic material as they are cut by the shear. In Figure 9, apilingfapparatus is shown which closely corresponds to the apparatus ofFigures 1 to 8 but which is positioned immediately adjacent the deliveryside of the shear so that the sheets S are received by the apparatusdirectly from theshear 79. The. magnetic rail unit and the associatedapparatus which is identical with that shown in Figures 1 to 8 isindicated by the same numerals and doesnot require further description.In this arrangement the switch at the entrance end of the magneticconveyor unit 10 is omitted and the switch 63 is connected into thecircuit controlling the operation of the shear 7:) so that the latter isoperated to cut off the sheet 3 when the front edgethereof hits theswitch' arm 64 and the electromagnets 25 are de energized-to drop thesheet. The sheet has enough momentum after the operationof the knife 70to'carry'it forward and strike the end of the stop plate 55. Step plate55 is retracted by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 59'whichcylinder 59'istinied to operate as described inconnection with the formof the apparatus of Figs. 1 to 3. The knife 70 operates at a high speedand does not stop; the forward motion of the sheet.

'In both forms of the apparatus disclosed there is no driving forceoperative on the sheet afterfit is delivered to theunderside of theconveyor unites and only the momentum of the sheet remains to beovercome to stop the sheet. The driving force applied to the sheet isnot effective beyond the pinch rolls 15, 16 or the shear 70 and the needfor critical adjustment of the magnets which is required with a drivenbelt conveyor to prevent the sheet from being shot forward iseliminated.

While particular materials and specific details of construction havebeen referred to in describing the form of the apparatus illustrated, itwill be understood that other materials and different details ofconstruction may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for stopping and piling rapidly moving sheets ofmagnetic material, comprising a magnetic rail unit which has adownwardly facing housing and a plurality of normally energizedelectromagnets depending therein, each of said electromagnets having acore with a bottom angular extension, a roller mounted on said coreextension, a plurality of rollers carried on said housing in spacedrelation to said electromagnets, said rollers being supported inposition to engage with the uppermost surface of a sheet fed to theunder surface of said rail unit, means to feed successive sheets to theunderside of said rail unit adjacent one end thereof, saidelectromagnets and said rollers being adapted to resist the forwardmovement of sheets fed thereto and to stop each successive sheet whenthe trailing end thereof reaches a predetermined point, an electricswitch controlling the circuit to said electromagnets, operating meansfor said switch positioned so as to be actuated by each successive sheetas it advances a distance approximately a sheet length in advance ofsaid feeding means to deenergize the electromagnets as the sheet stops,and means for accumulating a stack of sheets dropped from the rail unit.

2. An apparatus for stopping and piling rapidly moving sheets ofmagnetic material, comprising a magnetic rail which has a plurality ofdownwardly facing normally energized electromagnets, each of saidelectromagnets having an angular core with a vertically extending legand a horizontally extending leg, the horizontally extending legs beingaligned longitudinally of the rail below the coils, a roller mounted ina recess in the horizontal leg of each of said cores, and a purality ofrollers positioned along said rail in laterally spaced relation to thehorizontal legs of the cores of said electromagnets, said rollers beingarranged to engage with the uppermost surface of a sheet fed in a planewhich is a predetermined distance below said electromagnets, means tofeed successive sheets in a generally horizontal plane to the undersideof said rail adjacent one end thereof, said electromagnets and saidrollers being adapted to resist the forward movement of sheets fedthereto and means to deenergize the electromagnets and drop eachsuccessive sheet when the trailing end thereof reaches a predeterminedpoint.

3. A sheet handling apparatus comprising an overhead magnetic rail unithaving an elongate downwardly facing housing, and a plurality ofelectromagnets secured in depending longitudinally aligned relationtherein, each of said electromagnets having a vertically extending coremember on which one or more magnetic coils are mounted and a lateralextension secured to the bottom end thereof, said electromagnets beingarranged in longitudinal alignment with the core extensions positionedin longitudinal alignment between said electromagnets, said coreextensions each having a downwardly opening vertical recess and a rollermounted therein on a transverse axis with the lower edge of the rollerextending below the lower face of the core extension.

4. A sheet handling apparatus comprising an overhead magnetic rail unithaving an elongate downwardly facing channel-shaped housing, and aplurality of electromagnets secured in depending long y aligned relationtherein, each of said electromagnets having a vertically extending coremember on which one or more coils are mounted and a lateral coreextension secured to the bottom end thereof, the core extensions beingarranged in longitudinal alignment so as to extend between saidelectromagnets, each said core extension having a downwardly openingrecess and a sheet engaging roller mounted therein on a transverse axiswith the lower edge of the roller extending below the lower face of saidcore extension whereby to magnetically hold a sheet against theextending edge of the roller as it is delivered to the under side ofsaid rail unit.

5. In an apparatus for handling sheets of magnetic material, a magneticrail unit having a channel-shaped downwardly opening housing and aplurality of downwardly facing normally energized electromagnets, eachof said electromagnets having a vertical pole piece and a horizontalcore extension on the bottom end thereof which extends in thelongitudinal direction of the rail unit, said core extension having afriction roller mounted thereon on a transverse axis with the lower edgeextending below the bottom face of said core extension, and a pluralityof spaced friction rollers mounted along the bottom side edges of saidhousing in spaced relation on opposite sides of said horizontal coreextension and having their lowermost edges in the same plane as thebottom edges of the rollers on said core extensions.

6. In a sheet handling apparatus, means for rapidly feeding sheets ofmagnetic materials, an overhead magnetic rail unit having an elongatedownwardly facing housing beneath which successive sheets are fed, and aplurality of electromagnets secured in longitudinally aligned relationtherein, each of said electromagnets having a vertically extending coremember and a lateral core extension secured to the bottom end thereofand arranged in longitudinal alignment between said electromagnet andthe next adjacent electromagnet in the line, said core extension havinga vertical recess and a roller mounted therein on a transverse axis withthe lower edge of the roller extending below the lower face of said coreextension, and sheet actuated switches mounted on said apparatus inspaced longitudinal relation to energize and deenergize saidelectromagnets whereby to bring a sheet advanced beneath said rail unitto a stop for deposit on a pile beneath said apparatus.

7. In a sheet handling apparatus having means for rapidly advancingsuccessive sheets of magnetic material, a sheet piler for stopping andpiling the sheets, said piler comprising an overhead magnetic rail unithaving an elongate housing with a downwardly opening recess and aplurality of electromagnets secured in longitudinally spaced relation insaid recess, each of said electromagnets having a vertically extendingcore memher and a core extension on the bottom end thereof which extendslongitudinally of the housing between said electromagnet and the nextadjacent electromagnet in said recess, said core extension having arecessed opening on its lower face and a roller mounted therein on atransverse axis with the periphery of the roller extending below thelower face of said core extension, and control switches for energizingand deenergizing said electromagnets, which control switches are spacedlongitudinally of the housing and actuated by the moving sheet as it isadvanced so that each successive sheet is brought to a stop anddeposited on a pile beneath the rail unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ClaussJuly 16, 1935 Carter Mar. 12, 1940 OTHER REFERENCES

